Built in 1819 on West Main Street (Route 44), the Avon Congregational Church was designed by the Waterbury-born builder and architect David Hoadley. It is very similar to Hoadley’s 1813 Congregational Church in Norfolk, CT. His masterpiece is New Haven’s United Church on the Green, but the churches in Avon, Norfolk and several other towns, all located west of the Connecticut River and either designed by Hoadley or under his influence, represent simpler versions, suited for smaller communities. Originally part of Farmington, the Avon congregation was recognized as a separate parish, called Northington, in 1751. A split in the Northington church occurred in 1817, when a majority chose to build a new meetinghouse in the west of town, the West Avon Congregational Church–those in the minority went on to build the Avon Congregational Church. Northington became the town of Avon in 1830.